You can go for birding in New Delhi for ducks, teals, wetland and marsh birds, Raptors, doves, parakeets, shrikes, myna, bulbul and babblers.
Overnight: Park Hotel
Depart for Umaria rail head in MP by Super Fast Train.
Reach Umaria early morning and drive to Bandhavgarh NP for stay at Bandhavgarh Lodge. Lecture on Bandhavgarh birds will be delivered by our naturalist guide. BTR is mixed dry deciduous moist type of forests dominated by pure Sal (shorea robusta) at places. Forest is enchanting with steep hillocks marshy grassland in glens and dense forest on slopes. Life line of this ecosystem is the river Charangana and other small rivers Johilla and Umrar, interspersed between grasslands are nullah and water holes. Due to mixed vegetation and flowering and fruiting trees the resident bird population is high. The numbers are augmented by arrival of migrants in winters.
The evening birding on foot and jeep are at preferred spots - Bhadrashilla Lake and Gadpuri Tank.
Targeted Species: Wooly necked storks, Comb Duck, Lesser Whistling teals, Cotton pygmy goose, Red crested Pochard, Drongos, Common Teals and Snake birds. Also seen is Lesser Adjutant stork, Black and white Ibis, Painted stork. Birding on banks of rivers and streams delivers resident and wintering wagtails, Green, Wood and Common sandpipers, Painted and Grey francolins, Jacanas, Kingfishers, Owls, Thick-knee, Warblers and more.
Over night stay: Nature Heritage Jungle Lodge.
This enchanting fort at Bandhavgarh National Park is excellent for bird and wild life watching. One can see Long billed vultures, White rumped vulture, Blue Rock Thrush, and Crag Martins. More efforts would yield Jungle Bush Quails, Warblers and Peregrine Falcon.
The Forts forest are ideal breeding grounds for the Malabar Pied and Common Grey Hornbills. Other species seen at King Vulture, Alexandrine Parakeets, Barred Jungle & Spotted Owlets, Sunbirds, Petronia, Blue bearded Bee-eater, Tickell's Thrush and Common Rose finch in winter.
Overnight: Stay Lodge
Perennial streams, mixed riparian vegetation, marshy grasslands, and dense mixed and Sal forests yield variety of bird species in BTR.
Orange-headed Thrush, Thick Billed Flower peckers, Malabar Pied Hornbills and Plum headed Parakeets are seen often. The dry scrub area supports Sand grouse, & coursers, larks, pipits and buntings. The large, grassy meadows hold Prinia, Cisticola, and Lapwings & Pipits.
More Target Species: Asian Paradise Flycatcher & Verditer Flycatcher, Tickell's Blue & Grey headed Canary Flycatcher, Great Tit, Woodpeckers, Spur fowl, Sirkeer Malkoha, Racket tailed Drongos, Indian Scimitar Babbler, Starlings, Orange headed Thrushes, Plain-backed Thrushes, Ultramarine flycatchers and Grey headed Flycatchers, Pipit, Mottled Wood Owl, Brown Fish Owl, Small Minivet, White bellied Minivet, Long tailed Minivet, Crested Serpent & Hawk Eagle, Striated Heron, Purple Heron, Grey-headed Fish Eagle, Sarus Crane, Doves, Rufous Woodpecker, Puff throated Babblers, Brown cheeked Fulvetta and Pale billed Flowerpecker.
Evening birding again: Target Species: Honey Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Shikra, White-eyed Buzzard, Bonelli's Eagle, Yellow-footed Green Pigeon, Indian Scops Owl, Brown-headed & Coppersmith Barbets, Brown Capped Pygmy & Yellow fronted Woodpecker, Black rumped flame back, Jerdon's Leaf bird, Common Wood shrike, Cuckoo shrikes, Prinia, Greenish Warbler, Red-breasted Flycatcher, yellow eyed Babbler, Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch, White-bellied Drongo, Oriental White eyes, Thick-billed Flowerpecker & etc..
Night at: At Lodge .
We reach Kanha by mid day. Post lunch we will take our first safari it Kanha. Overwhelming bio diversity offers habitat wild variety of birds including migrants. Kanha is excellent to study forest birds though large number of wetland bird is seen in the water bodies. Life line is Halon River, Banzar, and Sulkum branches of river Narmada. Main wetlands are - Sravan Taal, Saundhar Tank and Bisanpura.
Target Specie are: Cotton pygmy goose, Lesser whistling teals, Garganey, Pintails, Shovellor, and resident Spot Bill Duck. Also seen are Black winged stint, Egrets, Gadwall, Little cormorant and Jacana alongside Grey heron, Purple heron, Wooly necked stork, Lesser Adjutant Stork, Black Ibis and Sandpiper. These birds are present in all large water bodies or streams near Kanha, Kisli and Mukki.
Overnight: At Resort.
Forest Birding - Morning and Evening Jeep safaris in reserve. Target Species: Common stone chat, Pied bush chat, Larks, Francolins, Sand grouse and Munias. Major attractions are Indian Pitta, Shama; Greater Racket tailed Drongo, Crested Serpent and Crested Hawk Eagles and Orioles. White Bellied Drongo, Cuckoos, Grey Bellied Cuckoo, Black Rumped flameback and Paradise Flycatcher.
Overnight: At Resort
Early morning Jeep safari to look for Warblers, Leaf bird, Babblers, Long Tailed Shrike, crimson Breasted barbets, Brown headed barbet and more. Many species of Minivets, flowerpeckers and prinias are sighted. At evening we trek on foot at the periphery of the park. The foliage around the park is more varied with Pakur, Banyan, Peepal trees are common.
Targeted Species: Green-footed Pigeon, Brown capped pygmy woodpecker, Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Little Minivet, Scarlet Minivets & Long-tailed Minivets, White-rumped vulture, Long-billed vultures, King Vulture, Malabar Pied Hornbill & Grey Hornbill. Among less seen are Brown Fish Owl, Ground Thrush, & Emerald Dove. At evening we sight Cuckoo-shrikes, Prinias, Warblers, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Tawny-bellied Babbler, Nuthatchs, Oriental White-eye, Thick-billed Flowerpecker, Sunbirds, Petronia, Chloropsis, Drongo, Orioles & Shrikes, Eagles, and Buzzards, Shikra and Common Kestrel. Among owls we see spotted owlet, Barred jungle owlet, Scops Owl, Mottled Wood Owl, as well as nightjars.
Reach Delhi early morning & get transferred to airport.
Extension: Why not consider a trip to Pench National Park.